Tabletop interfaces for remote collaboration

This technical report is based on a dissertation submitted June 2008 by
the author for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy to the University of
Cambridge, Gonville and Caius College.

Abstract

Effective support for synchronous remote collaboration has long proved a
desirable yet elusive goal for computer technology. Although video views
showing the remote participants have recently improved, technologies
providing a shared visual workspace of the task still lack support for
the visual cues and work practices of co-located collaboration.

Researchers have recently demonstrated shared workspaces for remote
collaboration using large horizontal interactive surfaces. These remote
tabletop interfaces may afford the beneficial work practices associated
with co-located collaboration around tables. However, there has been
little investigation of remote tabletop interfaces beyond limited
demonstrations. There is currently little theoretical basis for their
design, and little empirical characterisation of their support for
collaboration. The construction of remote tabletop applications also
presents considerable technical challenges.

This dissertation addresses each of these areas. Firstly, a theory of
workspace awareness is applied to consider the design of remote tabletop
interfaces and the work practices that they may afford.

Secondly, two technical barriers to the rapid exploration of useful
remote tabletop applications are identified: the low resolution of
conventional tabletop displays; and the lack of support for existing
user interface components. Techniques from multi-projector display walls
are applied to address these problems. The resulting method is evaluated
empirically and used to create a number of novel tabletop interfaces.

Thirdly, an empirical investigation compares remote and co-located
tabletop interfaces. The findings show how the design of remote tabletop
interfaces leads to collaborators having a high level of awareness of
each other’s actions in the workspace. This enables smooth transitions
between individual and group work, together with anticipation and
assistance, similar to co-located tabletop collaboration. However,
remote tabletop collaborators use different coordination mechanisms from
co-located collaborators. The results have implications for the design
and future study of these interfaces.